Sunday, January 29, 2012

So from previous posts you should have noticed that Cooper is really not liking ice skating. I kept thinking he would eventually get it. One thing I know about Cooper is that when he finally tries something, he wants to succeed the first time. He usually hangs back and watches what everyone else is doing, and then jumps in when he is ready. He missed two ice skating lessons early on, one due to having the wrong kind of skate and the other because we were out of town. I think this caused him to be a little more unsure of himself as the other kids took off, who are all smaller than him too.

But we persevered. I have walked out of watching him in lessons because he refused to participate only to come back in and see him trying. I wonder where he gets this stubborness from?

Saturday was a better lesson day until he had a complete meltdown at the end over a sticker. Yes, a sticker. He has this bad habit of answering a question the opposite of what he really wants I assume to get attention or be argumentative. I have been calling him out on it more lately and his skating teacher did the same thing. The kid lost it. Another parent offered me his headphones to tune him out. I was mortified and ended up walking away from him. He did end up following, but the meltdown continued in the car. At this point, I just wanted to get home and get him to his room.

It does get better. We ended up having a great rest of the day after he learned I was not backing down. So, me being a glutton for punishment suggested that we go ice skating today. No teacher, just me and Cooper. When we got to the rink, we had the entire place to ourselves. The videos speak for themselves.

I am so glad I saw a fellow parent using a chair to teach his little one. Once he did that he understood better what to do with his feet. He actually asked to stay longer, and no meltdowns when we left.

Success feels good ... and he didn't even realize until much later on that I was being his teacher even though I'm the Mommy. Parents are sneaky like that.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Cooper now asks to play Candyland at least three nights a week. I love that he has figured out (for now) that is okay to win sometimes and lose sometimes. I am trying to emphasis it's about having fun but there are winners and losers.

Please ignore the pizza on his face. He eats through the center of pizza, sandwiches, etc., so it ends up everywhere. Must be something he inherited from his Dad.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Who knew if you threw a hockey puck on the ice that a non-skater would skate to get it? Well, obviously his teacher did. He still spent quite a bit of time on the wall or holding the teacher's hand, but if he can do this, he CAN skate. Now the question is if he will do it again?